I pulled the trigger on VT-500. It is a huge improvement over Manley Chinook that has been serving in my system for over 3 years. The highs are no longer too bright and the lows are tighter and clearer. On the second movement of Borodin's symphony No.2, I can clearly feel the quality of drum roll, while with Chinook, that passenger sounds just a little muddy.
VT-500 reminds me the beauty of Cary 300sei and I simply love it! I now pair it with a VdH condor cartridge and I think the combo can give me many years of music enjoyment.
That being said, I still think Chinook is hard to beat at its price. I preferred it over Ear-834p. I also ordered a PS audio stellar phono stage a while back. But after A-B comparison for over a week, I kept Chinook and returned PS stellar. Now it's time to let Chinook go.
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